Fake Sparrow Wallet (Apple App Store)
Auto-generated score, not yet verified against the scoring model. Under review — treat as indicative, not a verdict.
anchored·MxL9W2…tUagSummary
A fraudulent iOS application impersonating Sparrow Wallet — a legitimate Bitcoin wallet that has no official iOS release — passed Apple's App Store review process and operated on the platform between at least May and August 2025, draining a combined $1.84 million in Bitcoin from three victims by capturing their seed phrases. Three plaintiffs filed a federal lawsuit against Apple on July 24, 2026 in the Northern District of California, case 5:26-cv-07713, alleging negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation, and strict products liability; the actual perpetrators behind the fraudulent app remain unidentified.
Connected Entities
7 entities · 60 linked investigations- Apple App Store — Systematic Fake Crypto Wallet Cluster (26 Apps, April 2026)→mentioned with→Coinbase(70%)
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- fake Ledger Live app→mentioned with→Coinbase(60%)
- Trezor→mentioned with→Bitcoin(65%)
- Coinbase→mentioned with→Bitcoin(65%)
- Fake Sparrow Wallet (Apple App Store)→mentioned with→Apple App Store — Systematic Fake Crypto Wallet Cluster (26 Apps, April 2026)(85%)
- Apple App Store — Systematic Fake Crypto Wallet Cluster (26 Apps, April 2026)→mentioned with→Trust Wallet(80%)
- + 8 more
Timeline(8 events)
6 January 2024
Sparrow Wallet creator Craig Raw publicly warned on X that a fake Sparrow Wallet app remained on Apple's App Store despite weeks of reports from himself and others.
CryptoSlateMay 2025
Plaintiff Jalen Delgado downloaded the fraudulent Sparrow Wallet app from the Apple App Store and lost approximately 1.05 BTC (~$120,000) after entering his seed phrase.
CoinDesk25 July 2025
Plaintiff James Ramirez downloaded the fraudulent app and lost approximately 7.4 BTC (~$875,000). Ramirez reported the fraudulent app and his loss to Apple the same day.
Decrypt3 August 2025
Plaintiff Christopher Ellis downloaded a Sparrow Wallet app from the App Store — nine days after Ramirez's theft report to Apple — and lost approximately $840,000 in Bitcoin.
Crypto TimesJune 2026
Apple reversed its earlier decision to terminate Craig Raw's developer account, which had been flagged after Raw submitted a placeholder iOS app warning users that Sparrow Wallet has no official mobile release.
MacRumors24 July 2026
James Ramirez, Christopher Ellis, and Jalen Delgado filed a 54-page federal complaint against Apple in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, case 5:26-cv-07713, bringing eight counts including fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and strict products liability.
Decrypt27 July 2026
Apple stated publicly that there are currently no Sparrow Wallet copycats on the App Store and that it had removed impersonating apps and terminated associated developer accounts. Apple did not disclose the removal date.
MacRumors27 July 2026
TechCrunch, 9to5Mac, Decrypt, CoinDesk, and other outlets reported on the lawsuit; Apple declined to comment on the litigation itself.
TechCrunchDecision Log
- hash: GWm5GtpWxu4gcrCD8Q9xgQRm1NepS3Bju6nyxSFP9Zg3
- hash: BV44xA9q8iPdhaTmx8ZFYPzgmwbwo75ceMacM6JFCuaB
- hash: 7pdWNb9RXru3gJ8m3XDA76tgj3zEedTt7nKPuKLwzS76
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (3 events). 13 of 14 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 8/10/2026, 5:19:20 PM
last updated: 8/25/2026, 7:19:09 PM
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